Game cards, such as lottery tickets, promotional game cards, and coupons, can, in some embodiments, contain hidden play indicia such as numbers, symbols or messages that indicate whether or not the card is a winner or has certain value to the holder. The play indicia is normally covered by an opaque coating material which can contain, for instance, metal particles, that can be scratched off by the holder to reveal the play indicia after the card or coupon has been purchased or otherwise obtained. Examples of various cards as described above are disclosed, for instance, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,174,857, 4,273,362, 4,299,637, 4,725,079, 4,726,608, 5,346,258, 6,076,860, and U.S. Patent Application No. 2006/0165997, which are all incorporated herein by reference.
One important aspect of constructing game cards as described above is to ensure that the cards are not capable of being tampered with such that one would be able to identify the hidden indicia without removing the opaque coating that is to be scratched off. In this regard, in the past, energy-curable coatings have been applied to the game cards over the printed indicia. The energy-curable coatings have been incorporated into the cards in order to improve graphic adhesion, improve backside wick protection, and to improve resistance to image ink alteration and migration.
Although these coatings have been very useful in the past, further improvements are needed. In this regard, an improved energy curable coating is needed that can provide better chemical barrier resistance. Energy curable coatings are also needed that are less expensive to produce and manufacture. Such coatings may have application not only in the production of gaming cards but also in the production of other products.